


Family Recipes

by luchijelly



Series: Princess Aurora's Adventures Continue [2]
Category: Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Genre: Aurora/Phillip is mentioned briefly, Baking, Food, Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Motherhood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:21:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24421207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luchijelly/pseuds/luchijelly
Summary: Aurora comes to know what a mother's love is through a shared hobby OR Aurora has loving, caring, and giving mother and no live action movie can take that away from her.
Relationships: Aurora & Leah (Disney), Aurora/Phillip (Disney)
Series: Princess Aurora's Adventures Continue [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1763569
Kudos: 8





	Family Recipes

Aurora's first experience of motherly love from a mother she only came to know at the age of sixteen happened to be in the kitchen. 

A mother's love comes in different forms. For some, it takes the shape of hugs and kisses. For others, it molds into 'I love you's and 'I'm proud of you’s. For Aurora, a girl so young and not yet used to the love of a biological mother, it takes the shape of a space. Wide counters, windows, various utensils, the space is quite packed 

Tears flow automatically without warning the first time her mother cooks her a meal.  _ That’s odd _ , she thinks,  _ my aunts have cooked me several meals and they never brought me to tears _ . Her mother doesn’t ask questions and only holds her tight until she’s ready to eat. 

One bright morning when mother and daughter are enjoying some silent time together, Queen Leah has an idea. As she works on her embroidery project, she remembers her own later mother and how much they loved to bake together. She puts down her needle and turns to Aurora. The girl just reached her 17th year not so long ago sits there with her studies and a face so contorted from concentration it looks as though the words are peeling off the pages. 

Leah smiles at how childlike she looks. “Aurora,” she says softly. 

Aurora almost startles at her name. She was so comfortable with the silence she didn’t expect it to be broken. But she smiles easily nonetheless. 

“Would you like to do something with me?” Leah asks. Aurora is intrigued. 

“What is it?” she inquires, closing her book and marking the page. 

“Let’s bake together,” Leah says, “something you would like to eat.” 

In the year after moving into her home, she spent quite a lot of time getting to know her parents. It seems as though she has yet to see some sides of her mother who hadn’t asked to do something like this before. Aurora’s heart is overjoyed. She loved baking with her aunts as a child and she thought she lost the simple joy of baking with family when she returned to the kingdom. 

“I would love that, mother.” 

Years pass and Aurora reaches her 20s with more heart in her relationships in the castle. Baking with her mother has become a hobby she cherishes deeply and the memories which comes from them are recorded in her journals. The mother and daughter duo could be found in the kitchen more often than what the caste staff would consider normal for royalty. Each time for Aurora, she felt herself being transported back to her cottage but this time with her mother right by her side. Granted, the castle kitchen is much wider and much more spacious than that of the cottage, but it feels like home all the same. 

This afternoon her mother has arranged for them to bake one of their favorites, custard tarts with wild berry. It even gave Aurora an excuse to go berry picking in her peasant dress to prepare for the dish. Of course, some of her servants, and even her husband, asked to go with her which she politely declined. After all, she grew up in these woods. 

Before long, all the ingredients were set. Unfortunately, she couldn’t convince the servants to fetch all of them herself. None of the staff would let their princess milk a cow as long as they are alive and working for the crown. 

Aurora lists the ingredients in her mind, already donning her apron, a gift from her father on her 18th year that matches with her mother. 

“Egg, flour, rosewater, cinnamon….” Queen Leah enters the kitchen in her apron right as Aurora washes her hands at the bucket of water. Her hair is tied in a neat bun and covered with a kerchief for protection. 

Leah washes her hands as Aurora is done and takes a kerchief to tie around her bunned hair when her daughter intervenes. 

“Let me, mother.” She says and takes the kerchief from her. Over the years Aurora has let her mother braid, style, and brush her hair as they grew closer. Returning the love and care with which Leah takes care of her hair brings Aurora more satisfaction than she can communicate. 

Leah smiles at her daughter and lets her brush a hand over the stray hairs before laying the kerchief and tying. 

“My mother was a great embroiderer, she would sew me kerchiefs and tie them to my hair when I was still much younger than you.” Aurora drinks up every word of her family history whenever her mother shares even a sliver of the stories from her childhood. For a girl raised with no blood relatives these stories are kept in fragile glass cases for her revisit. 

When Aurora finishes tying, Leah turns to take her daughter’s hands into her own. Sometimes Aurora marvels at her mother’s youthful appearance even after all these years. Then she remembers the gifts bestowed upon herself and wonders if her mother received some as a child as well. 

“These two hands remind me so much of your grandmother. They work so hard yet remain as soft as the newborn I once held decades before. When you were born, my one wish was to see you grow. To take care of you the way my mother did me, and even though some of those years were taken from me, I still see the child in you growing, Aurora.” Her eyes shine with a new light Aurora hasn’t before and she smiles back, bright as the dawn she was named after. 

Aurora squeezes her mother's hands in response, and looks at them being joined together.

“The very child who longed to see her parents, to know about them any which way, has had her wish come true too.” While Aurora is still looking towards their hands, Leah moves to place a kiss on her forehead, a show of affection that Aurora quickly grew to love. 

The two move towards the ingredients table to start the pastry, 

“Now, let’s see, you remember the steps?” Leah asks with a playful smile. She’s proud of what her daughter has learned so far and thinks she is quite the excellent baker already but it’s in a mother’s instinct to see their daughters at their very best. 

“Of course!” Aurora exclaims and starts making the dough for the pastry that will hold the custard tart. 

Soon the butter is mixed into the dough with water, eggs, and salt to create the pie crust. Aurora pours the care from her mother’s hands into the dough and lets it cool once she’s finished mixing. Leah starts working on the custard while Aurora continues to prepare the fruits. 

While washing the berries, Aurora watches her mother meticulously measure the milk, cinnamon, eggs, and sugar. She mixes the dough with the energy from her youth and Aurora learns to have a new pride for her mother’s strength. The filling is smooth and not over beaten s Leah learned to control her mixing from her own mother.

Aurora doesn’t always initiate any stories from her mother’s past but sometimes her curiosity gets the best of her and she asks how Leah learned to mix like that. And so, Leah takes a wooden spoon to demonstrate and let Aurora mix some of the filling herself. All the while, the two chatter on various matters. 

Leah always makes sure to ask Aurora about two important things. Her studies and her life at her in-law’s house. The princess is seen traveling frequently between her own home, her parent’s home, and her in-law’s since her marriage which keeps her busy, She is after all, princess of this land and so actively participates as a member of her father’s court while attending various royal conferences in the nearby countries for diplomatic missions with her husband. This in turn helps her with her continuing studies that she missed during her childhood. 

“And how is Phillip doing?” Leah asks while giving a knowing look. Aurora is a married woman but speaking to her mother so openly makes her feel like a schoolgirl with a crush on her own husband from time to time. One of the many feelings she must have missed out on. 

“He’s doing well. He’s been making visits to the blacksmith quite often, he says the smithery in father’s lands are exquisite and has craftsmanship he’s never seen before. Not long before he comes back with satchel full of swords” Aurora mock sighs and Leah laughs at her son-in-law’s antics. She thinks of how he’s not changed much since the first day he came over on Aurora’s christening. 

  
  


“And what of you and father? Your bodies don’t show signs of ailing?” Aurora asks playfully, knowing her mother takes pride at her youthfulness. 

“Oh hush! Your mother won’t be ailing for quite a bit. In fact, I will definitely see my grandchildren before I’m bedridden, mind you” Se swats Aurora on her arm 

Sometimes Leah asks Aurora about children and she can only blush and laugh but it feels good to speak to her mother about such things. To know her mother will support her when it’s time and she will learn how to be a mother from the best. 

“Dear, will you get the dough, it’s time to make the pie crusts.”

“Yes, mother.” Leah brings out the pans as Aurora checks on the cooling dough. She remembers her mother’s demonstration on kneading from a few years ago. She flours the surface and starts kneading it to smoothness. 

“My, my, you’ve grown strong, daughter,” Leah says much to Aurora’s slight embarrassment, “have you been practicing at the barracks with Phillip?” 

Aurora gives out a hearty laugh at her mother’s joke but does not answer. She knows if she were to reveal she’s been learning the sword from her husband her mother would worry too much for her own good. 

Leah, for the most part, is being serious. Knowing the fairies, she wouldn’t put it past her daughter to be doing unusual activities in her leisure. She genuinely would not be surprised to find out her daughter is learning the sword. But who would tell Aurora that?

“Oh dear, I’ve forgotten about the oven. Aurora, you keep kneading and I’ll prepare the oven for the crusts.” 

“Please be careful, I’ve seen the fire dance outside the hearth” Aurora warns. Leah gives her a look that very much says,  _ I own this kitchen, I would know. _

The crusts come out beautifully as the duo carefully cooks them on the pans making sure of the consistency and lightness. The filling, which was set aside, is poured into the crusts carefully by Aurora while her mother holds the crusts still. They got to continue chatting while cooling the crusts and cleaning up bits of the kitchen while doing so. 

Aurora makes the two of them some tea as the custard tarts cook for the last time, now decorated with berries. When she’s done pouring the two cups, she takes them over to Leah in the nearby table. 

“Mother,” she says, “what would you have taught me if i grew up at the castle? Would I have become more like you?” And Leah realizes even her grown daughter can ask silly questions even though she’s no longer a five year old. Because they will never know, even if they were to spend an eternity speculating. So Leah chuckles, maybe a bit darkly. 

“What I would have taught, you already know. You are your father’s daughter as you are mine. Nothing could change that. Look at you! Why I see my own reflection. And whatever you have learned, from whomever it may be, it has led you to be you and there is nothing else I would want for you. You make me proud.” Leah smooths a hand over Aurora’s cheeks and they share a tender moment. 

“Oh! The tarts must be done.” Aurora carefully takes out the pans carrying the tarts, making sure to not burn herself. They let the tarts cool and decide to have them after dinner. 

Fortunately for their family, the king is not too busy to join his family for dinner than night and the delicious tarts are served for dessert. Stefan sits at the head while his wife takes the right side. Aurora sits opposite to her mother with her husband next to her. 

“Why, these are delicious Aurora, I’d say if you weren’t so active at court you’d be a baker!” Stefan declares. To him, Aurora is still the same infant and every feat she achieves never fails to impress him. 

“Thank you, father. I learned from the best” Aurora says tasting the labor of love and teamwork. For her, a mother’s love fills the spaces she holds so close with a filling as sweet as custard tart. 

**Author's Note:**

> It's not proofread so if you saw any mistakes please let me know!


End file.
